When scouring the web, it’s nigh on impossible not to run into a new (and ‘super effective, celebrity-approved’) form of weight loss treatment or a ten-minute exercise regimen that will get rid of all your belly fat in just a month. The fact that there are so many of them doesn’t mean that they are all ineffective (although you should be careful what you choose). Rather, it points at two conflicting points of view, as to which is the best fitness regimen.

The decision to get fit is one of the best anyone can ever make. The adage ‘health is wealth’ is hard to dispute if you ever truly cross the line from fit to incredibly unfit or vice versa. The two main routes people take to achieving this fitness are diet and exercise. Here, we’ll demonstrate which is best.

Diet

The guiding principle behind dieting is “you are what you eat”. This refers to the direct correlation between what a person eats and their fitness. Dieting involves a strict control of what is consumed and generally involves replacing fatty foods with healthier alternatives (such as fruit and vegetables) and curtailing or completely eliminating junk food intake.

By focusing on diet, people can reduce the number of calories consumed each day and focus on foods that provide only the necessary nutrition. You already burn calories within the course of a normal day, so all you need to do is regulate the food you eat. This is to make sure the calorie count of food eaten is less than the amount you normally burn.

The positive effect of a well-managed diet cannot be overstated and is great for treating diseases such as scurvy, rickets, and osteoporosis; a number of conditions that stem from deficiencies of specific nutrients; as well as uncomfortable ailments such as diarrhea, bloating, and constipation.

Exercise

Exercising regimens are often considered more difficult because of the time and energy required. Exercise simply feels and looks like hard work to many, which is understandable. This is not true for all exercise regimens however, and many exist that cater specifically to a person’s particular lifestyle.

It often seems intimidating to some, but that’s because they don’t necessarily understand what exercise entails. In its most basic definition, exercise is regular physical exertion beyond what is standard. This means that for those who stay indoors all day, simply taking time to walk outside is considered exercise. If you have a desk job, swimming for twenty minutes each day constitutes exercise. However, if you’re a professional athlete or bodybuilder, then you’re spending a minimum of six hours working out most days.

Exercise affects fitness in ways diet alone cannot; the process of exerting the body is effective in strengthening muscles. A person who struggles with lethargy or constant fatigue can benefit from a good exercise regimen, as it has been known to imbue practitioners with energy.

The Better Regimen

Like all things in life, ‘the best regimen’ is a relative term. There is no one better regimen, as exercise works best with certain goals in mind, while dieting performs better with others. Before choosing a fitness regimen, it is of prime importance to first ascertain the reason for doing so.

Weight loss: This is one of the more popular reasons for implementing a fitness regimen. Everyone believes they will be better off if they lose a pound or two. In most instances, this is true, so the most advisable route to take is dieting. When calculated, the amount of calories that are burnt during exercise is rarely enough when set against the average unhealthy diet.

Often, when people solely focus on exercise, they forget to account for the huge meals they take on board to fuel their exercise. The amount of exercise required to significantly burn calories while maintaining that very diet is rarely feasible, as it would require hours of exercise every day. Using helpful devices like the Keto Domain calculator, you are able to accurately calculate the number of calories you require to safely lose weight.

Muscle building: Many people want to look and feel good, and so decide to find the best regimen to build muscle. This is mostly a no-brainer, as no matter how good your diet plan, it will not have any real effect on your muscles, which are developed by the systematic breakdown and rebuilding of muscle tissue. This requires hard work. Depending on the muscle type you want to develop, there are different workouts to choose from.

General fitness or health needs: There are many conditions that require a person to undertake a fitness regimen. Each one determines whether dieting or exercising is best. For example, with heart conditions and high blood pressure in mind, a person would usually be required to exercise more. Meanwhile, someone affected by diabetes or low blood sugar levels would have a greater need to diet.

Conclusion

Regardless of what your final goal is, the best regimen will always be a combination of dieting and exercise. While certain conditions may call for more of one than the other, eating well and working out will always have the greatest impact on your general health.

Making sure you’re getting a decent lunch is essential if you want to function well when you’re at work. During a particularly busy day at the office, you may be tempted to skip your midday meal, but it is one of the most important features of your working day.

To make sure you get a healthy, fulfilling lunch every day, it is important to bring your lunch from home. So why should you put the effort in to prepare your lunch and take it with you to work?

#1 – It’s Healthier

By preparing food at home, you can create healthy and delicious meals that will give you plenty of energy to get through the rest of your working day. Freshly cooked ingredients tend to be far better than pre-packaged alternatives on the high street. In fact, a sandwich made at home is likely to be much better than one bought in the shop.

Even if you don’t feel as though you’ve made a ‘healthy’ lunch, it’s likely that you will have made something healthier than shop bought alternatives which are often full of salt, sugar, and fat.

#2 – It’s Cheaper

Buying your lunch every day can become an expensive business, and if you’re hoping to pick a healthy option, be prepared for your bank account to feel the impact. According to research from Compare the Market, healthy calories from high street brands cost up to nearly 600% more than unhealthy calories. They looked at the options in the top high street brands such as Pret a Manger where a healthy option costs £2.98 per 100 calories compared to the less healthy main costing just 50 pence per 100 calories.

Most salads cost upwards of £3, with the Starbucks Grilled Veg & Grain Salad Bowl costing a whopping £5.99. Just imagine how much money you could save yourself by preparing them at home.

#3 – It’s More Satisfying

There is something incredibly satisfying about preparing your own food. Not only that, you can also create delicious and satisfying meals that you can eat at work which you would be hard-pressed to find on the high street. You can opt for something quick and light, like a salad, or prepare something a little more substantial like a stir-fry.

#4 – It Gives You More Control

You may not be trying to lose weight or stick to a particular diet plan, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t want to maintain control over the ingredients you are consuming. Pre-packaged lunches from the high street can be filled with all sorts of preservatives which offer you no nutritional value whatsoever. However, with a lunch made from scratch, you can take control of what you put into your body.

In fact, even when high street eateries claim to be offering ‘natural’ food options, that is not always the case, as reported by The Guardian earlier this year.

#5 – It Helps You to Save Time

While spending time preparing food for the next day can seem like a time-consuming task, you can actually find yourself saving time if you simply prepare larger portions for evening meals, saving the leftovers for the next day’s lunch. This means that you can enjoy more of your lunch break, eating a nutritious lunch, rather than trawling round the shops trying to find something to eat that won’t break the bank.

There are plenty of benefits to preparing and taking your own lunch to work, so whether you’re hoping to save money, watch your waistline, or you’re just concerned about staying away from E numbers and preservatives, make sure to check out our recipes to find the perfect meal for your office lunch.

The month of June is here and it is all about grilling, pool days, vacations, fathers, and men’s health. National Men’s Health Month is often overshadowed by the sunny days and hamburgers, but in my brand new Guy’s Guide to Eating Healthy Men’s Cookbook, I have made it easy for all the men to eat healthily and still enjoy the thrill of hearty food.

Those wanting to become bigger and stronger are gulping down protein shakes and the dieters are chewing down protein bars and shunning pasta in hopes of quick weight loss. It’s easy to understand the excitement because protein is an important component of every cell in the body and the body needs relatively large amounts of it, but it’s not always about pumping weights and the latest fad diets.

So, there are many ways to include protein in your diet that you might not realize. I have protein-rich simple recipes from salad to entrees. Take a trip to the Caribbean without leaving your house with my Caribbean Mango and Black Bean Salad. This recipe is great to include as a salad, side or topping and is rich in healthy weight maintaining fiber that helps keep you full and satisfied. I have no doubt this colorful and refreshing recipe will become a summertime favorite while giving you a hefty dose of fiber and protein also.

I keep a healthful lifestyle simple because everyone is busy but if you follow my simple 8 Health Tips for Men, a man can improve his health and hopefully, live a longer, fulfiller and healthier life. The American Heart Association recommends at least two servings of fish per week and my Oven Roasted Super Salmon recipe makes a great option and sums the 8 tips into one. Delicious, simple, and healthy this recipe contains 36 grams of protein!

But, the fish recipes don’t stop there! Seafood is a great protein source. Easy to fix, protein controlled and perfect for light summery meals I couldn’t resist including my Blackened Fish recipe that contains 34 grams of protein, wow! How about a recipe that fuels your muscles without compromising taste! This quick Blackened Fish seasoned with paprika, chili powder, thyme, and garlic makes a quick and convenient fish dinner. Just a 2-step fish recipe that adds a bold statement to any meal and will have all men coming back for more.

Add a little Louisiana favorite and hearty twist to your backyard hamburger with my Crawfish Burger recipe. Included in the Heart Disease: I’m Afraid Of A Broken Heart Chapter of my new book, crawfish is low in fat and a good source of protein. Turn into a mouthwatering burger and you are effortlessly adding more seafood to your diet.

Eating high-quality protein such as lean meat, seafood, and chicken at each meal may help maintain muscle mass and boost energy for an active lifestyle. Here are more quick and delicious high protein recipes to add to your diet. My new men’s health cookbook, Guy’s Guide To Eating Well: A Man’s Cookbook For Health and Wellnessincludes chapters for heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, testosterone, cancer prevention and GERD for preventive men’s health and wellness. Get control of your life this month and become a rock star in the kitchen all at the same time!

With Mother’s Day around the corner, a little pampering is in order for the invaluable and tireless work of a Mom. And what better way to celebrate Mom than with a homemade trim and terrific brunch menu and a surprise skin care treatment. No matter the occasion, spring brings delightful warmer weather and colorful blooms, making mouth-watering brunch recipes ideal for these beautiful days and long lazy weekend mornings.

My Mexican Breakfast Bake from KITCHEN 101 cookbook is the perfect blend of savory brunch flavors. I love to make this dish ahead of time, mixing the ingredients together the night before to quickly and easily pop in the oven when you wake up! Kids can even get in on the action, helping to whisk together the eggs and seasonings. Look for turkey sausage in the grocery to save on calories, fat, and saturated fat. I also use reduced-fat cheese because I cannot taste the difference, saving you saturated fat.

If you’re from the south, a brunch menu must include grits. If you’ve never had grits, these creamy, cheesy Cheese Grits are melt in your mouth delicious. Fast to make and the mellow flavor complements the well-seasoned breakfast casserole for the perfect menu addition.

For the grand finale and the best Mother’s Day gift, whip up my organic Margarita Body Scrub or my Brown Sugar Scrub so later Mom can buff off her skin to softness. Made with two ingredients put in a jar for that special gift. Brunch is my favorite meal of the day and I have easy healthy brunch recipes!

Terrific Brunch Tips

Pick up pre-made fruit trays.

Serve smoothies in small glasses on a tray or platter as a starter.

Wrap forks in cloth or paper napkins and tie with ribbon ahead of time. One convenience of a brunch menu is that a fork is often the only utensil your guests will need!

Make ahead recipes are the best: Breakfast casserole assembled the night before and quick breads.

Have a variety of juices and coffee creamers to quench your guests’ thirst.

Amp up the coffee bar with extra touches such as flavored creamers, cinnamon, sugar cubes, whipped topping and chocolate morsels.

There’s a symphony of features that the best cheeses have. Choosing a cheese for you or your entire family is a matter of taste, consistency, health rate and so much more. Before knowing the best cheese, you should know your own food preferences.

Many of us already know most cheeses available in stores and markets. However, it’s natural to desire to occasionally try a new product. Cheeses are versatile, so you can eat most of them raw or include them in recipes. Finding the right cheese for a recipe, yet, might come difficult. This is a guide to know more about cheeses and how to choose the product that turns your recipes into artwork.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Do you usually like soft, creamy cheeses or hard and aged ones?

Goat milk, cow, or sheep milk?

Salty cheese, blue cheese or a light variety?

Do you prefer small farmers or famous manufacturers?

What matters most – budget, utility, weight loss or others?

You can narrow down the list to your favorite cheese by answering the questions above. If you plan to know what vitamins, versatility grade or the perfect canning by researching specialized sites, Today Top Reviews includes tops of the best brand depending on utility, taste and other aspects we’ve mentioned in the questions.

Main Cheese Types

Fresh: They have a short shelf life but are always soft and creamy. Cottage cheese, ricotta, mascarpone, mozzarella, and cream cheese are some of them.

Processed: Customers sometimes look for processed cheese products on the farm, instead of the supermarket. Cheese-based products include dips, mixes with fruit and others which have an extended shelf life. These usually contain emulsifiers and artificial flavors. Spreads and American cheese are two examples.

Semi-soft cheese: They are usually pale and easy-to-slice. You can find flavored process products or fresh cheeses such as Brie and Camembert.

Aged or hard cheeses: They don’t have a lot of moisture, but they produce intense flavors. You can use them in many recipes which include meat.

Blue cheese: You recognize blue cheese by its intense taste and smell. You can add it to salads or dips and improve their taste. Roquefort, gorgonzola, Danish blue cheese are the three main types of blue cheese.

Washed-rind cheeses: They are a bit more special as are bathed in salt water, liquor, wine or brandy. They are bright-orange or brown, with a soft interior.

How to Complete the Buying Process

Stop buying from supermarkets. It’s easy to look for the best cheeses in a supermarket where you can find products for cleaning your kitchen and other home necessities. However, you should try to pick the best cheeses from specialized cheese shops with knowledgeable personnel. They will teach you more about cheese types and let you taste samples. These cheeses are usually a bit costlier, so sellers allow and promote product tasting.

Transform buying into knowledge. Try a different cheese every time you plan to buy one. This way, you will know more about taste, textures and how to pair them. The sellers will learn your taste and make recommendations for any type. It’s alright to favor a specific cheese type. However, you should develop your knowledge and try some more, even from the types you might not like. Taste as much as you can and experiment!

Learn why you like what you like. You may enjoy the buttery cow milk cheese or richness of the goat’s milk cheese. There are plenty of varieties made of a certain milk. However, you need to know what you further look for in the cheese.

Countries of origin don’t matter that much. Of course, a cheese from South Africa will differ than another cheese from Italy. However, many varieties are produced in more countries, based on the original recipes. Again, if you go to a specialized shop, you will get to talk about taste and country of origin to the seller.

Research on cheese pairing. You can pair cheese with certain foods and wine. However, each variety can successfully pair with a different type of wine. Research on the internet, in books and talk to the cheesemonger (specialized cheese seller) about the best use of cheese. You will be surprised to discover some tasty recipes and ideas.

7 Recipe Ideas for the Best Cheeses

Cheese is a healthy protein resource which can keep your energy rate high for the entire day. Many varieties also include calcium and essential vitamins. Here are 7 ideas you can try to enjoy a bit of your favorite cheese.

Eat semi-soft cheeses on apple slices.

Try to cook a roll of deli sliced turkey breast with cheese.

Gorgonzola tastes delightfully next to pears, apricots, and figs.

Salmon and low-fat cheese make a delicious weight loss meal.

In search of a quick and simple recipe? Cottage cheese works best with a sweet potato and steamed broccoli.

Fresh cheeses work best in cool menus. You can try making some delicious bruschetta with tomatoes, cheese, and smoked fish or light meats.

Experiment by pairing blue cheese with pork and steak, next to earthy vegetables. Mushrooms balance the cheese’s intense taste.

Finding the Best Cheese

When you decide on the best cheese for you and your family, you should also consider health concerns. Lactose intolerance, allergies, and restriction to fat or salty products are the most common factors for your next cheese. However, there’s a product for each of the conditions above. You can integrate them into recipes or develop ways to eat them fresh.

Make sure you keep the best cheeses in a refrigerator and consume them before their best before date. If they expire, they won’t age. A spoiled cheese may lead to body reactions that you can best solve in a hospital. Once you’ve taken all cautions and found the best cheese for you, it’s time to experiment and enjoy!

If you’ve never heard of an Instant Pot, it’s obvious you don’t watch television or use the internet. It’s the biggest sensation on the market, and it’s making serious waves across the country as a family-friendly dinner helper. Everyone loves it because it’s designed to save time, cook meals, and make life easier for busy families. It’s a hot product, and everyone is on the verge of owning one if they don’t already. If you haven’t fallen into the Instant Pot love triangle along with the rest of the world, you’re probably on the fence about it. Here’s what you need to know about saving serious time with your very own Instant Pot.

You Get to Multitask

The biggest benefit of using an Instant Pot is the ability to do anything else you want while dinner cooks. You can cook an entire chicken in around an hour, and you get to do it without using your hands at all. You can answer those emails. You can help the kids with their homework, and you can even work on the rest of the things on your to-do list you feel never get done. Your hands are free because you’re not required to touch the pot, check on it, or mix anything the entire time it’s cooking. You have better things to do.

Credit:therecipecritic.com

It’s Faster Than a Crockpot

There are some Instant Pot owners complaining that it takes longer than they’d like to cook an entire meal. It needs time to pressurize, warm up, cook, and release the pressure. However, it’s always faster than using your crockpot. In fact, you can cook an entire meal in less than a quarter of the time in an Instant Pot. It’s all about perspective when it comes to cooking times and kitchen appliances. You don’t need to prep your meal before you leave for work and hope it doesn’t cook too much on low all day. You do it when you get home, which saves you ample time.

It’s Good

Do you love good food? Everyone loves good food, and that’s why you’re going to love your Instant Pot. Your family will save a lot of time cooking a second meal or ordering fast food because the meal you tried to make failed. It’s good food in a pot, and that saves you ample time. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s good. Most people assume fast food that seems to take shortcuts isn’t as good. This is quality cooking all rolled into one hands-free situation that allows you to multitask and still cook a fabulous dinner in no time at all. Even better, the food you make is beyond delicious. Your family will love this investment when they realize just how much more time you have to spend with them when you cook good meals.

It’s Extra Help

Did you ever host a dinner party during which you realized that a double oven and a six-burner stove still didn’t allow you to get it all done? The Instant Pot can help you saute food without using it to cook anything completely, which makes it like having an additional stove top burner. You get to make more food for more people without adding more stress to your already overworked mind. It really is the little things in life that make the biggest difference.

Credit:lifemadesweeter.com

You Don’t Need to Store Fancy Appliances

The great news about an Instant Pot is that it does the job of so many other items. You don’t need a rice cooker or a crock pot. You can save yourself a lot of time, money, and effort by owning one Instant Pot and getting rid of everything else. You have one dish to clean after dinner rather than dozens, and having one tool that does it all helps you find the time to spend with your family rather than hooking things up, cooking, and watching everything you have going on all at once.

You Save Time Planning Meals

Meal planning is a great tool, but who has time to sit down and plan out a week’s worth of meals that have different sides and features when you can head right to Pinterest and pin some Instant Pot recipes? Your meal plan is right there, and you always have it at your disposal when you need to create an amazing meal. You can put an entire meal into the pot to cook all at once, which makes your life that much easier. You won’t spend hours looking for perfect sides when you can throw one recipe into a pot and make one entire meal.

All you have to do is to decide which is the best Instant pot for yourself. It is a major time-saver for families, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to save ample time every day. You don’t have much to go around, which is why it’s helpful for you to have this additional time every day. You aren’t required to use it daily, but this one simple appliance can become your go-to for simple, tasty, easy meals that take virtually no time.

Our Editors:

I believe that food should not only taste good, but make you feel good as well and that is why I am so interested in exploring ingredients, preparing meals, and finding ways to make the whole cooking experience fun and exciting! Being a blogger for MyGreatRecipes unites my two passions – food and writing, and I am enjoying every second of it!

I’m in love with food and everything about food! Blogging is my way of celebrating that love and MyGreatRecipes made it all happen. If you, too, are into great food and interesting reads, you will enjoy reading my posts!

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